Nora Heysen: A Portrait

by Anne-Louise Willoughby

Hahndorf artist Nora Heysen was the first woman to win the Archibald Prize, and Australia’s first female painter to be appointed as an official war artist. A portraitist and a flower painter, Nora Heysen’s life was defined by an all-consuming drive to draw and paint. In 1989, aged 78, Nora re-emerged on the Australian art scene when the nation’s major art institutions restored her position after years of artistic obscurity.

Extensively researched, and containing artworks and photographs from the painter’s life, Nora Heysen: A Portrait is the first biography of the artist, and it has been enthusiastically embraced by the Heysen family. This authorised biography coincides with a major retrospective of the works of Nora and her father, landscape painter Hans Heysen, to be held at the National Gallery of Victoria in March 2019.

Genres: Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Lewis Woolston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful biography of a brilliant painter who made her own way in the world out of the shadow of her famous father and against the conventions of the society of the time.
Very well researched, the author has really done her homework here, almost every period and aspect of her life is brought to life.
One or two places where it gets a little dry and dull but overall very satisfying.

[Jess Theworddegree · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly interesting read about artist Nora Heysen

Heysen faces so many roadblocks in her career purely because she was a women. Despite her famous father and all the opportunities and connection he offered she still struggled to make her name for herself if the mans world. It left me thinking if all of her privilege didn’t offer a buffer to the sexism of the time, imagine all the other talented women that never had chance.
I love that Willoughby surrounds Nora’s life with the context of the time, recapping major events in history and social shifts that occurred throughout Nora’s life.
It is not necessary to know anything about art when going into this book (I don’t) however, if you do know art I think it would add another layer to this beautiful book.
This was a fantastic read! The writing is brilliant and effortless and I learnt so much! Highly recommended. NGV is holding an exhibition of both Nora and Hans Heysens work this month so if my schedule permits I will defiantly be heading to that!
This book was gifted to me by the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Holden Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a meticulously-researched and carefully crafted volume about one of Australia's greatest painters. What I learned from this book was not just that Nora Heysen's art was as compelling and masterful as her father's (the renowned Hans Heysen) but that, for cultural and social reasons, her legacy has until never matched that of her father. Anne-Louise Willoughby documents the life and times of Nora Heysen and argues for the recuperation of her place in the art world. There were some fascinating elements to this biography: the personal archives and letters that are reprinted within, and the travels the author undertook overseas to personally interview people who could give some insight into the artist herself. One of the most interesting sidebars in the book, I thought, was Nora Heysen taking a young gay men, Steven Coorey, under her wing - an insight into the inner world and into the heart of the artist.

[Ann Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revealing book about what it was like to be a woman painer as well as the daughter of a famous painter.

[John Kidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read. I’m sorry I missed the recent Heysen exhibition. An insightful biography and I was introduced to some amazing art works I have never seen before.

[Ainslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having seen and loved the Nora and Hans Heysen retrospective in Melbourne, I was very interested to read about her life and what influenced the directions it took.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and intimate biography containing up-to-the minute information about this under-recognised Australian artist.

[Jo Budden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whilst the subject is fascinating I found the author put in too much extraneous information that really bore no relationship to the subject.

This was horribly disappointing because the artist had so many "firsts" - first female war artist, first female artist winner of the Archibald Prize yet these & other interesting fillips are almost cast aside for quotes about other artists by male critics that have the most tenuous link to the Nora Heysen. And usually that link is only the artists' gender.